Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Dear Parents and Caregivers

We would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your kind gifts and notes. We appreciate your lovely gesture and whilst we don't expect it at all it is very generous of you!

Please have a wonderful Christmas and stay safe. We will see you all on January 7th 2020.

Best wishes,

Mrs Hurley

Mr Greenfield

Miss Harvey

Christmas Jumper Day for Action Aid

Dear Parents

Year 3 and 4 have enjoyed our Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas dinner today. Thank you so much for donating money to a worthy charity, Action Aid. I am sure your child will be able to explain the difference your money is making to our sponsored child, Thoko who lives in Malawi.
It was great to see the children wear their Christmas jumper and were so well-behaved and polite during our Christmas dinner.

A reminder that we will finish for the year on Wednesday 18th December.
We would like to take the opportunity to wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Mrs Hurley
Mr Greenfield
Miss Harvey

Please see below for link to your Homework which will be added to our class page next week. Feel free to make a start on this at the weekend. Can you please ensure you are reading your AR book every day and that you are taking a quiz regularly in class.

Shang Dynasty Homework

Christmas comes to Down Hall...

On Friday the children got to visit Santa's Grotto at Down Hall. "It was really cool!" was the children's reply when asked how good the experience was.
In the afternoon, all children were given the opportunity to shop at the PTA Christmas Bazaar. A number of bargains were to be had and we all appreciate the efforts of our wonderful PTA and parent helpers. Without these wonderful volunteers, the children would not have the opportunities that they currently get.

This week the children have all undertaken some tests in GPS, Reading and Maths. They have all done really well and we are very proud with the way the children conducted them.
So we have decided to give the children a break from regular homework this week. Stay tuned for next week's homework which will centre around our new Project beginning in January 2020...

Have a great weekend,
Mrs Hurley
Mr Greenfield
Miss Harvey

Handwriting and Homework

Dear All

We hope you have all had a good week! Just to let you know that we will be having a big focus on the children's handwriting in all three classes over the next few weeks. We would like the children to show a consistently neat, legible style in all of their books.
A prize will be awarded to one child from each class who demonstrates a commitment to the improvement of their handwriting.

Homework this week is to practice the spellings from the lists that have been sent home with your child on Friday afternoon. We would encourage you to quiz your child on their spellings on a regular basis. The Year 3/4 spellings are located in your child's reading log book. It is a general expectation that your child learns their spellings and times tables along with reading on a daily basis.
Many thanks for supporting your child on their learning journey.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Hurley
Mr Greenfield
Miss Harvey

World Children's Day 2019

Down Hall marked World Children's Day 2019 by completing a range of activities including looking at the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 20th November marks the 30 year anniversary of its ratification (approved). It applies to everyone under the age of 18. You are still considered to be a child until then. Rights like: Every Child has the right to life. Governments must do all they can to ensure that children survive and develop to their full potential.

So what's the problem?

Despite the UN agreeing to the rights of every child 30 years ago, their is still a lot of work to be done for children in the UK and all over the world.

• Every year, 5.4 million children die before the age of five. The majority of these deaths are from preventable causes.
• Children face many challenges now that didn’t exist before – such as online bullying, childhood obesity and climate change.
• More countries are in conflict than at any time since the Convention was written and many children are among the millions of refugees from these conflicts.

  We are going to learn about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and child rights in the past and present day. We will also imagine the best possible future for children all over the world. 

Remembrance Day

On Monday 11th November, we held a special assembly to mark Remembrance Day. Mike Davies from the Rayleigh Museum spoke to us about the importance of never forgetting those that gave our lives for us.
It was interesting to hear the last post being played live. We learned that it used to be played when a soldier died. We sat very respectfully and were able to answer some questions.
In Art, we are creating some poetry. Stay tuned for the finished product!
Lest we forget.

UK Parliament Week

In Year 3/4 this week we have been learning all about how the UK Parliament works and the history behind it.

What is UK Parliament Week?

UK Parliament Week is an annual festival that engages people from across the UK with their UK Parliament, explores what it means to them and empowers them to get involved.

The children have all taken part in a wide variety of topics including:Elections and Voting and discussions of what matters to them. We explored the issues of single use plastics, Climate Change and homelessness.

We looked in great detail at Bonfire Night and it's connection to Parliament, focusing on the key facts of the story of the Gunpowder Plot and discussion around the events that occurred and the people involved.

Democracy and The Big Vote
The children were able to set up the hall as a debating chamber. We put ourselves into groups to form out very own political leader with an elected leader. Some of the pupils gave their speech and in the afternoon children had the opportunity to vote for the pary that they thought represented the class topic the best.

The children were able to make a rosette and posters to campaign for their party.

The winning parties were:

Garnet: Heroes of the Earth

Moonstone: The Planet Savers

Opal: Home, No Home

Congratulations. It seems we have some aspiring politician's among us!

Overall, a very enjoyable week had by all!

Sparks and Spooks

Today we were lucky to have Stuart from the Essex Fire Service come and talk to us about about 2 upcoming special events. Halloween and Fireworks Night.
Stuart began by telling the children to be careful when trick of treating. Always have an adult to supervise you and never go into a strangers house. It is also best to not knock on houses that don't have any Halloween decorations as they may not wish to take part in Halloween.
It was also good to hear about the Firework Code and how to stay safe on Bonfire Night. 
Ask your child to explain what they have learned.

Stay safe and happy holidays to you.

Year 3/4 teachers

Queen’s Speech and State Opening of Parliament

On Monday 14th October, we were able to watch the ceremony. It was really great to see the places we had been to on our school trip to Westminster.

We were able to talk about these questions.

1. Where does the word Parliament come from?
2. Who is the Monarch?
3. Who works in the House of Commons?
4. What is special about a Life Peer?

Year 3/4 Homework

As you may be aware, in KS2, we have begun to trial children completing their homework through their Google accounts. A lot of the children's learning in school through not only computing lessons but across the curriculum is via the Google apps. Please bare with us as this is a new way of completing homework not only for the children but also staff and there will be some initial teething problems.

However, in the long run, it should be more beneficial to the children as it will give them instant feedback on the work they complete.

Depending on the homework, it could be completing a form where the children answer questions based on their learning that week; it could be asking the children to create a Google Doc or Google Slide with a particular focus or it could ask the children to access a particular website.

If your child is completing their homework on a tablet or a mobile, it would be easier for them to have access to Google Classroom, Drive, Docs and Slides apps. Once they have logged in, unless it is a shared device, they should not need to log in again. However, if you have a chrome browser they should be able to access everything without installing each app.

Should your child not be able to complete their homework at home, time will be given to children to do so on a device at school.

If you have any problems with accessing Google Classroom or the other apps, please see Miss Hedges directly. Should your child need support with their log in details, your child will need to speak to their class teacher directly if they do not have their details stuck in their Reading diaries.

Stone Age Homework

We are thrilled with the amazing response to this term’s Stone Age Project Homework. We wanted to share these with you. Well done to all of you who have taken such great care with your work. Your creations are brilliant! Remember there are still three weeks of the school term left. So give it a go and enjoy!
From the Year 3/4 Teachers

TT Rockstars Homework

Dear Parents,

The children have been asked to practise their knowledge of multiples over the weekend as this has been a focus in Maths this week. There is a competition taking place in each class on TT Rockstars for the children to participate in. The competition begins at 16:00 today and will end on Tuesday 1st October at 18:00. Good luck!


Y 3/4 Team

Y3/4 Homework Menu

Dear Parents,

For this week's homework we would like the children to complete one of the tasks on the Homework Menu that you will find on the Year 3/4 class page.  We would also like to congratulate the children on their fantastic behaviour returning to school this week.

Year 3/4 Team

Year 3 / 4 Homework w/e 21st June 2019

Dear Parents/Carers

This week for homework, in addition to practising times tables, spellings and reading, we would like the children to carry out a research task on Howard Carter and the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.

Thank you for your continued support.
Miss Harvey, Mrs Devlin & Mr Greenfield

Year 3/4 Homework w/e 10th May 2019

Dear Parent/Carers
This week the children have been asked to practise their times tables facts (below is a link to a helpful site) and also to practise spelling the words in the Year 3/4 spelling lists (found in their Reading Records). There is still time for the children to submit/complete any homework on the Ancient Egyptians, chosen from last week's menu of activities.

As part of our project work on the Ancient Egyptians, we would like the children to bring in a firm, salad tomato and a resealable, airtight plastic bag (e.g click seal). What will we be doing with them?  All will be revealed next week!

We would like the children to bring their tomato and bag in on the following day:
Wednesday - Moonstone
Thursday - Garnet
Friday - Opal

Times tables - https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check

Many thanks for your support.
Miss Harvey, Mrs Devlin & Mr Greenfield

Y3/4 Homework Menu

Dear Parents,

For this week's homework we would like the children to complete one of the tasks on the Homework Menu that you will find on the Year 3/4 class page. We also will be running a Times Table Rockstar competition for the children. As always we encourage the children to continue to practise their times tables and  read their Accelerated Reader books.

Year 3/4 Team

Welcome Back

Dear Parent/Carers

We hope you all had an enjoyable Easter break.
This week's homework is as follows:

MATHS:     Y3   p55            Y4: 62 & 63

ENGLISH: Y3: p44             Y4: 40 & 41

Miss Harvey, Mr Greenfield and Mrs Devlin

Y3/4 Half Term Homework- Research on Egyptians

YEAR 3/4 HOMEWORK

Set on: 5.04.19           Due in by: 24.04.19

Project Homework

Your task over the half term is to research an important Egyptian Pharaoh. You can complete the homework on Google Docs and share with your class teacher or you can carry it out on paper. You can gather facts and pictures and all writing must be in your own words.Thank you for your ongoing support and enjoy a well deserved break.

Happy Easter!

Miss Harvey, Mr Greenfield and Mrs Devlin

Dear Parents/Carers
Homework for this week (Fri 22nd) is as follows:
Maths :    Y3  p42            Y4   p48 & 49
English:   Y3 p36 & 37    Y4  p35

May we remind children, if they have not already done so, that last week's homework was to collate some pictures of famous landmarks etc from the countries that Phileas Fogg visited in the story Around the World in Eight Days.

Many thanks
Miss Harvey, Mr Greenfield and Mrs Devlin

Amendment to Maths Homework for w/e 15/03/19

Dear Parent/Carers
Homework for the week ending 15/03/19 is as follows:

Maths:      Year 3: p 42             Year 4: p48 & 49
English:    Year 3: 36 & 37       Year 4: p35

Apologies for any confusion
Many thanks
Miss Harvey, Mr Greenfield & Mrs Devlin

Times Table Rock Stars Launched in School

Dear parents/ carers,

The children have been given times Table Rock Stars logins to access this site at home. All of the children have been given the opportunity to visit the site and have enjoyed doing so.

Please encourage your children to visit the site at home and continue to improve their times table recall. This can be found by searching it on google, an app is not needed to access this.

Homework this week

Year 3 Maths -  38+39                   Year 4 Maths - 42+43
Year 3 English -  Pages 36+37       Year 4 English - Page 35

Many thanks,

Miss Harvey Mr. Greenfield and Mrs. Devlin

Homework

The homework pages for this week are:

Maths-  Y3 p38 & 39          Y4 p 42 & 43

English-Y3 p26 & 27      Y4 p20&21

We also would like the children to bring any holiday brochures and images of places where Phileas Fogg travelled to as the children will be using this for Art work in Project lesson.

Y3/4 Team

Welcome Back!

We hope you all had an enjoyable and restful half-term.

This week, as part of a whole school recycling project we are asking for help to collect plastic bottle tops.

In addition to this, we are continuing with our project work, Around the World in 80 Days, and will be creating a piece of artwork later in the term for which we would like the children to start gathering pictures. The pictures can be collected from magazines, newspapers, holiday brochures and also printed from the Internet and should feature places that Phileas Fogg visited during his trip around the world, including famous landmarks.

Homework for this week:

Maths:    Year 3 p52  Year 4 p61

English:  Year 3 p64-65   Year 4 p64-65

Many thanks for your support

The 3/4 team.

Y3/4 Homework Pages

The homework for this week are the following pages:

Maths:
Y3: P26                          Y4:P26

English:
Y3:P20                           Y4:P22

As always we recommend that the children continue to practise their times tables. There will be a Sumdog competition running this week around multiplication and division.

3/4 Team

Homework Task

For this week's homework the children need to research Ranulph Fiennes as they will be writing a biography about him over the next few weeks. The children have been given a research template to use, which is also available on the website. As always, we recommend that the children continue their times tables practice at home. We look forward to seeing all their work.

Year 3/4 Team

Sumdog Competition

As we are covering multiplication and division over the next few weeks, the children have been given a challenge on Sumdog. This challenge is voluntary. All the questions involve multiplication and division. The top 5 children will receive a prize. The competition will end at 8:00 Monday morning. Good luck!

Around the World in 80 Days

This half term the children are focusing on the story 'Around the World in 80 Days' by Jules Verne. It would be great if the children could bring in any holiday brochures that can be used to research different countries that can then be included in their writing.